Still Laughing @ Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery

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Hi all.  Here are some photos from the current show at the Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery.  It's been a great turnout with great feedback and interest so far.  Thanks to everyone that came to the opening and has checked out the work.  Don't forget there's still a couple of weeks left so get your ass down there and look at some art while you drink some delicious beer.

Demon Semen

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This piece is a long time coming.  I did it for my friend John down in L.A. about 4 or 5 months ago.  Now that he has it in his position, I feel okay posting it.  John gave me the title and let me interpret that however I wanted to.  To me demon semen would be, vicious and would infect an egg therefore creating a horrible abomination.  Anyway that's kind of what's going on here.  Enjoy!  11.5"x23.5" done on wood with ink, acrylic, paper.

The Only Way I Know How...

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This piece was done for a fan of zombies.  I asked him what kind of imagery he was thinking about for the painting and he said he liked gas masks and zombies.  From there, I came up with this.  Yes, I did nerd out on a back story for the narrative, but I'm gonna keep that to myself and let those seeing it take it however they want.  Done on canvas with ink, graphite, charcoal and acrylic.  24"x3"

Wonderland

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This is a piece that I've been working on here and there.  I have a strong connection to painting on drawers and it's been a while since I've done it.  Like most pieces I do it developed with every layer.  Once the background was in place I layered paper and collage elements, then back over it with paint and ink.  In the middle of this process it began to read as a landscape to me.  A hallucinatory landscape.  At first I was going to add some gore and disturbing imagery into the background but decided to keep it ambiguous.  I like to imagine the blood and guts are still there just hidden.  The goal is to put the subject in a realm of cautious bliss.  The drawer itself lends itself to the narrative qualities of the piece.  So, enjoy and, beware any drawer left in the street is on notice.  Done on found desk drawer with acrylic, ink and paper.  15"x20.5"

Growth is Dead

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This is a piece that I've had in my head for the past month or so.  It is an illustration of the truth of our economic system.  A system cannot sustain itself when the measures of growth are fueled by limited resources.  Any rises in the GDP are the effects of bailouts and bailouts can only go so far.  The GDP is an illusion,  a lie.  The truth is real growth in this economy has been dead for some time now.  An economy that only flourishes when it has infinite growth doesn't work when you have finite resources.  It's time to change the very structures of our economic system to even have the possibility of living within a sustainable one.  Just sayin'. Done on canvas with ink and a acrylic.  24"x 30".

Labyrinth

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Hello again.  This is a painting I did for some friends out in New York.  The idea was to paint a labyrinth.  I thought about a lot of things before putting paint to canvas.  Thoughts of puzzles, passageways, and among other things David Bowie came to mind.  Finally the decision was made to say F it and just start it.  Layers of ink developed into layers of collage, photo transfers, etc. and repeated.  The piece ended up being about creating multiple angles of depth so as not to let the eye settle for too long in one spot.  This idea of keeping the eyes and mind busy creates a sort of visual labyrinth.  That's the idea anyway, whether it was achieved or not is up to the viewer.  On canvas with mixed media,  16"x16".

The Immaculate Frustration

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This is a piece that I have been developing for a while.  It is a representation of overwhelming emotion that develops into a broader existence of self.  Through feelings of anger, confusion and even happiness the image of your being expands into something more, in this case wings, horns etc.  It absorbs every emotion that comes with life and involuntarily grows into something new, for better or worse.  Done with ink, acrylics, paper with collage elements on found wood.  23.5"x11.5"

TURN THE PAGE, HALL OF RECORDS MIX TAPE

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I recently did some cover art for Turn the Page's (Slop Opera) newest mix tape.  It was a fun project, plus I'm way down with his raps so it was a win win.  I painted the cover in ink and acrylics then it was scanned in and the title and so forth was added.  I did the art on the cover and the top of the CD itself.  The Turn the Page logo was done by Cole Lemke, layout by Nick Anderson and the photo on the back was courtesy of Mike Ross.  All in all it turned out pretty rad, pun intended.  Check it out, and cop the mix tape, you won't be disappointed.  Send inquires for art to me via the contact page on this website.  Hit up Turn for a copy at turnthepage7@gmail.com.  Enjoy!